How to Upgrade Mac OS Tiger

Mac OS Tiger is one of the major versions of Mac's OS X operating system. Mac OS Tiger comes with a number of dramatic enhancements over OS IX, including upgraded Smart folders, the Automator scripting suite and even modifications to the Spotlight search tool. You can easily upgrade Mac OS Tiger via the Internet, or you can simply choose to upgrade to Mac OS Leopard and beyond.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Access to a Mac OS Tiger upgrade
• Mac OS Tiger

1. Be aware that in order to upgrade to Mac OS Tiger, you have to be running an earlier version of the Mac OS, like Max OS 9 or Mac OS Panther. An upgrade from Mac OS Tiger to Mac OS Tiger would be an update.

2. Start your Mac as you normally would and log in using the system administrator account. If you are the sole user of the Mac, your account is the system administrator by default.

3. Acquire the upgrade either by purchasing it online from the Apple Online store or by picking up an upgrade copy from an actual retail outlet (see Resources below).

4. Start the upgrade process using the medium you've purchased. For example, place the DVD into the DVD drive if you bought a hard copy from the Apple Store, or simply run the downloaded file from your hard drive.

5. Choose the options and preferences in the installation process that you want to use in the upgrade to Mac OS Tiger.

6. Follow the onscreen prompts during installation.

7. Restart your computer once the upgrade is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep informed about when a new upgrade is going to become available. Apple's mailing list will tell you when the next major upgrade to Mac OS is coming.
• Be aware that an update and an upgrade are two different things when discussing a Mac OS. An update is an incremental patch to a specific operating system, while an upgrade is a shift to an entirely new version of the Mac operating system platform. Updates can generally be downloaded for free.
• Always back up your files whenever you choose to upgrade Mac OS Tiger just to be on the safe side. The likelihood of a major failure is very small, but it can happen. Copy your files to an external hard drive or burn them to a CD or DVD.
• It is not free to upgrade your Mac OS. Each new version of the operating system needs to be purchased separately.

Resources

• Mac OS Tiger support from Apple.com
• Buy Mac OS Tiger from the Apple Online Store